The staff at Valley Rural Electric Cooperative (REC) has noticed an increase in the number of contacts from members reporting that they have received phone calls with caller ID information for Valley REC. However, the members soon learn the calls are not from us. This is an example of caller ID spoofing.
Caller ID spoofing is when a caller intentionally falsifies the information transmitted to your caller ID display to disguise the caller's identity. The scammer makes the call look like it is coming from someone in your neighborhood or from a trusted business or organization in your area. If you answer and the caller is not who you expected, hang up.
Unfortunately, there is nothing Valley can do to prevent scammers from spoofing our caller ID information. If you do receive a call claiming to be from us, and you are not sure it is a valid call, hang up and call us at 1-800-432-0680 or the numbers on your bill or on our website.
For more information about caller ID spoofing, including a video illustrating the scam, visit this link from the Federal Communication Commission (https://www.fcc.gov/spoofing). The site includes a link to file a complaint with the FCC if you think you are the victim of a spoofing scam.
Don't be fooled! Never answer calls from unknown numbers and never give out personal information to someone who calls you.
Woman-on-telephone photo by guvo59 from Pixabay. Don't-be-fooled image courtesy of SafeElectricity.org.